Head off the beaten track, where it’s delightful, it’s deliberate, it’s deflected. Using a myriad of weave structures and commercially available yarn (NOT over-twisted or unbalanced), subtle to amazing transformations can occur in woven cloth if you understand how to control the variables of fiber, yarn grist, weave structure and finishing technique. Explore the dimensional landscape of ruffles, ridges, waffles, crinkles, “innies” and “outies” while weaving in round-robin format on pre-warped looms (with custom-wound warps provided by Ruby).

Discussion focuses on why these transformations happen, the role that color plays in creating optical movement, and how to manipulate weave structure and fiber to produce dimensionality. Methods of finishing cloth with water and heat are addressed as well as techniques to document the before and after effects for record keeping purposes.

There Must Be 50 Ways to Weave Your Color...(with apologies to Paul Simon, we’ll go beyond white and blue, Sue, and do more than red, Fred)Format: 3-day workshop (includes “Lost in Translation” as the Guild lecture.)

Weavers seduced by gorgeous colored yarns often fail to use them successfully. The usual approach to this problem is to learn color theory — a huge and daunting undertaking. Learning terminology is NOT the equivalent of learning to use color well. What is needed is a method to translate color theory, terminology and yarn wrappings into actual weaving. You don’t need to master color theory to use color masterfully.

Using one color palette and a myriad of weave structures, we’ll take a layman’s approach to color theory and the principles of optical blending for a facilitated, semi-scientific investigation of color design. Weaving in round-robin format on pre-warped looms (with custom-wound warps provided by Ruby), participants will explore the effect different fibers, yarn grists and structures have upon a single colorway. By weaving a color sampler at each loom, everyone will produce the equivalent of a case study in color and weave structure — reference tool for weavers to successfully integrate color and design into their cloth-making repertoire.

Weavers who don’t dye their own yarn are dependent upon color palettes provided by commercial sources. Learning how to blend color while working with already dyed yarn is a different beast than learning how to dye specific hues. “Project Colorway” to the rescue! This is a hands-on approach to learning how to increase your color range when dealing with a finite number of yarn color choices. A variety of off-loom exercises using Ruby’s basic approach to color theory and optical blending, together with a complete color line of Tencel yarn will help you train your eye to see color and value and begin to understand how to incorporate design and color principles into woven structure.

Ruby will demonstrate her method for winding warps with multiple colors without using a paddle and how to design color wrappings that translate into realistic, usable warps. She’ll share an extensive collection of samples for her production line of scarves which document her evolving approach to color design. This progression led to the development of a practical approach to color theory as applied to weaving and a process for designing swatches for Handwoven
magazine’s ‘Color Forecast’ series that is applicable for all fiber artists. Participants will be invited to bring in a project that’s giving them headaches, or yarn that they’d like help incorporating into a design. These are the sorts of challenges that this class aims to help resolve.

Weavers seduced by gorgeous colored yarns often fail to use them successfully. The usual approach to this problem is to learn color theory — a huge and daunting undertaking. Learning terminology is NOT the equivalent of learning to use color well. What is needed is a method to translate color theory, terminology and yarn wrappings into actual weaving. You don’t need to master color theory to use color masterfully.

Ruby will share her extensive collection of samples for a production line of scarves, which document her evolving approach to color design. This progression led to the development of a practical approach to color theory as applied to weaving and a process for designing swatches for Handwoven magazine’s ‘Color Forecast’ series that is applicable for all fiber artists.

Weaving cloth is easy, but weaving consistently good cloth requires an understanding of design, a word that most weavers associate only with making garments. Design is possibly the most overlooked concept in a weaver’s repertoire. Focusing on color, structure, methods and technique, you will learn how to implement these design elements in the weaving studio to create cloth with the WOW factor. A variety of off-loom, hands-on exercises, including the use of a complete color line of Tencel yarn, together with lectures, seminar discussions and on-loom weaving will demonstrate how to successfully incorporate design and color principles into woven structure.

Sampling is NOT a Dirty Word!Format: All day seminar; Half Day seminar; Guild Presentation

You know you should sample, but the excuses abound: you don’t have enough time, yarn or energy (besides, isn’t that what computers are for?!). However, virtual weaving doesn’t produce real cloth and you often become a member of that illustrious “full-size” sampling club. The aim of sampling is to acquire information, not cause pain! Stop treating sampling as a dreaded disease –– sampling IS weaving.

An inveterate sampler, Ruby has always tried to extract as much information as possible from each warp. After years of being a closet sampler, the closet has burst with a collection, documenting techniques and strategies for making sampling a habit to embrace. We’ll examine a wide variety of woven samples and focus on sampling as a design tool with painless techniques for how to extract a maximum amount of valuable information from a surprisingly small investment of time, money and yarn.

Hungry for a hearty and versatile weave structure? Whether you pronounce bumberet as “bum-ber-et” or
“bum-ber-ay” this 4-shaft weave structure is a delight to work with. It is usually thought of as a warp dominant textured weave producing ribs (or chains), but it can also be woven as a flat cloth with a chevron pattern (there’s your chicken feet). Ruby will explain various ways to set up the threading, tie-up and treadling to produce a variety of patterns. Learn how to introduce complex color patterns in a weave structure that is not often thought of as an example of “color and weave” and you’re on your way to designing unique cloth! We’ll use a wide variety of fibers — cotton, cottolin, tencel, bamboo, and
wool — to investigate how bumberet works with different yarns.

This is a round robin weaving workshop with custom-wound warps provided by Ruby. Various methods for
winding complex color patterns without a paddle will be demonstrated as well as how to design yarn wrappings that are
great tools to sample warp color relationships.

The Legacy of Information –– Musings on Life and WeavingFormat: Guild Presentation or Formal Speech (1-2 hours)

After 25 years of sitting at the loom, Ruby’s thoughts piled up along with her weavings and thrums. In an image filled lecture, she addresses weaving as metaphor, connecting us all to the distant past and onward to the future. Amusing and idiosyncratic, Ruby’s recognition of her debt to mentors, family and students alike, takes her on a journey that culminates in a weaving rap music video "Getya Loom Goin'."

HOW TO SCHEDULE..........................................................................

for details about scheduling a weaving program for your guild or study group.
Ruby also offers private instruction in her studio. Check in with her to arrange your own sessions.
(If you've never been to Vermont, you're missing out on a wonderful experience!)